Legendary punk pioneers The Damned arrived at Bristol Beacon midway through a 12-date UK tour. Even more of a treat for fans was that it featured the band’s classic 1980s line-up of founding members David Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensible on guitar, Rat Scabies on drums and Paul Gray on bass, plus keyboardist Monty Oxymoron, who joined in the mid-90s.
The line up has changed multiple times with numerous split-ups and reformations in the 40-plus years since they emerged as one the UK’s original punk rock bands in 1976, with lead singer Vanian the only ever-present.
The Damned’s sound evolved from their punk beginnings towards gothic rock in the 80s over almost half a century, during which time they have released eight studio albums and numerous top 40 singles.
Tonight’s set features tracks picked from across their impressive back catalogue, but the set kicks off with a classic early single as the rumbling bass riff and furious drum roll announce Love Song – two minutes of full tilt punk rock.
The packed crowd roar their approval as the band go straight into Machine Gun Etiquette from the same album of the same name to get the enthusiastic crowd down front in full moshing mode.
The Black Album openers, Wait for the Blackout and Lively Arts, slow the tempo just a little and showcases how the band’s songwriting had evolved by the time of their fourth album.
Guitarist and joker-in-chief, Captain Sensible is having a ball, grinning maniacally as he bounces around the stage in his trademark red beret and stripy t-shirt as he responds to mock-heckling from some of the lively old punks near the front of the crowd. He pauses briefly to cue in big-haired keyboard player Monty Oxymoron who obliges with the distinctive piano intro of The History of the World (Part 1), an early Damned classic and big fan-favourite,
On they go, with Plan 9 Channel 7, Gun Fury (of Riot Forces) and I Just Can’t Be Happy Today, one of five in the set from 1979’s Machine Gun Etiquette album.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde slows the tempo again before Beware of the Clown, the first of two from last year’s Darkadelic album. Their epic cover of Barry Ryan’s Eloise has Dave Vanian in full voice and is a high point of the set, prompting mass singalong from the stalls to the balcony.
“You’ve been waiting for this one!” announces Captain Sensible. “This song is sooo good, two bands have stolen the bloody riff from it!…… One was Nirvana…. And the other was..?” Paul Gray teases with the instantly recognisable bass riff from Eighties by Killing Joke. “Yeah Killing Joke,” confirms the Captain before launching into Life Goes On.
The Invisible Man is another from the latest album before it’s time to up the tempo again. “You can fall over to this one!” advises the Captain “Even you up in the cheap seats” as the opening riff of Ignite is the cue for more moshing in the stalls and there’s no let up as they make a noisy segue into tribal, pounding punk anthem, Neat, Neat, Neat, to close the set in prime pogoing mode.
After a brief interlude they return for an encore of Curtain Call which merged seamlessly into a mightily impressive two-minute drum solo, Rat Scabies pausing briefly to catch his breath before pounding out the intro to the bona fide punk rock classic single New Rose.
But they weren’t finished yet. With a nod to the festive season, it was “Ho, ho, ho!” and into There Ain’t No Sanity Clause. Then a question for the crowd from the Captain, with reference to famous past performers listed on the Beacon stairs.
“Did we play here with T-Rex because we supported them on their last tour. Anyone old enough to remember?” Before dedicating the final song to Marc Bolan.
Saving arguably the best til last with bona fide punk classic Smash It Up, it brings a magnificent 90 minute set to a close and sends old punks and younger fans home very happy.